The Iron Princess | The Iron Fey sequel |

Chapter 12 Making Arrangements

'Serena, how is it you're here?', my mother asked me, 'Well apparently something was happening here and Keirran thought I was needed here', I said giving her an honest answer. As I had said it I realized I put Keirran in a really nasty position, Meghan, Ash and Glitch all turned their heads to Keirran, 'Keirran is this true?'. I looked at Keirran and gave an apologetic look, 'Yes mom, it's true, I overheard you, Glitch and dad talk about something moving that involves all three court'. They looked shocked and all looked at each other, it was like they were having a silent conversation, my dad looked straight at Keirran and I was almost afraid for him, 'What else did you hear?'. I looked at Puck and he was as clueless as me, 'That was the only thing I heard, I heard Serena's name and I took action. 'I know it was rash and impulsive but I care a lot for her and I just want my little sister safe'. I looked at him and gave him a smile, 'Well Serena I know this might sound strange because we haven't seen each other in years, and we'll have more than enough time to catch up but right now I need to consult with Ash, Glitch and Puck so I'll call someone to bring you to your room'. She called for someone and an Iron knight came into the throne room, he bowed for her and awaited an order, 'Please direct the princess to the restricted room in the south wing, here's the key'. He may be wearing a helmet but I saw a surprised look on his face, he looked at me and then at my mom, 'The princess? 'Do you mean the lost princess Serena?', she looked at me and I saw a glimmer in her eyes, 'Yes indeed, this is the princess that we had once lost'. He had guided me all over the palace, I looked all around me, the place was huge but it still had a warm feeling to it, it might have been the plants that grew everywhere, the art hanging on the walls or the carpet on the floor. We stopped at a huge wooden door, it was made from a beautiful red-brown wood, there was big tree carved in it, at the base of the tree there were nymphs, satyrs and other creatures carved in it too. The tree wasn't made just out of wood but out of metal too, the branches twisted into a half wood, half metal base and into the roots, the strange thing was that there wasn't  doorknob in sight. The knight turned to me and got a knife out of his belt, I took a step back and went into battle stance, he chuckled and put his hands up in defeat, 'I do not mean you any harm, it is necessary for the key to work, it means you take your ownership of this room and no one will be able to enter without your permission'. I was hesitant but gave him my hand, he took my finger and gave it a little prick, he got the key out of his pocket and held my finger over it to let just a tiny drop of blood fall on it. He gave the key to me but I didn't see any keyhole either, 'Don't worry, the queen gave me the directions of how to open your room just point the key right here', he said pointing to a certain spot. I did as he said and as I got closer to the door it was like the branches and leaves moved and parted to reveal a little keyhole, I put the key in and the branches that had moved created a beautiful twisted doorknob. The moment I put my hand on the knob I felt a little tingle, I looked at the knight and he just nodded, I opened the door and was completely breathless. The first thing I saw was the giant wall that consisted in mostly window, the second thing was a huge and beautiful chandelier that looked like hundreds of crystal butterflies were waiting on strings, there was a white colored, Victorian styled lounger that looked as comfortable as it looked beautiful. The next thing I saw was a nice humble fireplace, the fire inside it flickering from blue to red, to green, to white and back again, but the most impressive thing in the whole room was the huge king sized bed. It was a big platform bed with a soft golden color and lots of pillows on it, next to the bed was a beautiful welded bedside table made of glass, metal and wood. On the wall on the right there was a little boudoir that looked like it was a set with the lounger, at the wall of the window there was a desk with a lot of technology on it, as I looked around I didn't see a closet or wardrobe anywhere. 'Excuse me princess, but do I have your permission to come in?', 'Oh right, yeah you can come in',  he came in and viewed the place, 'So that's what all this stuff was for? 'I remember having to collect these things in the mortal realm, but I thought it was just for a spare room'. 'It's absolutely beautiful, I love it, and not to be rude but I don't see a closet or wardrobe', he chuckled, 'Well I guess it's through that door', he pointed at a double door behind the lounger, I hadn't seen it yet but now I was curious. I opened the door and inside was a walk-in closet filled with beautiful clothes and at the end there was another double door, I walked to the other door but admired the clothes. I opened the other doors and found a beautiful big bathroom, there was a hot-spring at the corner and a big mirror and a few shelves with tons of bottles of products that smelled amazing. I went back to the room and the knight was still there, 'Uhm thank you ...', 'Siegrein, my name is Siegrein', 'Well Siegrein I give you my thanks but not to be rude, I'd like to be alone for a little', he bowed and left my room, 'If you wish to leave the room don't panic when you don't see a doorknob. 'Simply reach out for it and it will appear like before', the door closed after him and I was finally alone. I looked around the room again and gave into an urge I had since I saw that huge bed, I took a little running start and landed on the bed, after sleeping on a sleeping mat this bed felt like a cloud. It all smelled faintly like a combination of chamomile and jasmine, not in a strong way but in a calming and sweet way, on the bedside table there was something that looked like a flower bud, I touched it and to my surprise it opened and gave a soft light. I touched it again and it closed, I was starting to like this room more and more, I moved to the little boudoir, I'd never been a girly-girl because of Puck's training but I always thought of a boudoir as something to romanticize the room a little. It was filled with bottles, little boxes and little containers, I opened a few and recognized perfume, blush, lipsticks and so much more, in the drawers of the boudoir were ribbons, combs, hairpins and other fancy things. It was getting darker and I was trying to find the light switch when I saw a little button on the wall next to the big door, I pushed it and something happened I could never imagine, the butterflies from the chandelier didn't just light up, they detached themselves and flew around in the air around my room making this room the most magical one I've ever seen. Most of them stayed near the ceiling but some came down and fluttered next to me when there was a sudden knock on the door,  I opened the door to find Glitch standing there, he gave a little bow, 'Princess, consult is done and the queen requests your presence, you may choose to come now or to freshen up first', I thought a little and looked at my clothes. They were still dirty because of going through the Wyldwood, 'If it isn't a bother I would like a moment to get cleaned up and change my clothes'. He nodded, bowed and went on his way again, I opened the doors to the closet and to my surprise the light butterflies followed me giving me more than enough light, I picked out a simple knee-long, green dress and matching shoes , I went further on to the bathroom and took off my clothes to get into the hot spring. I soaked and washed myself for about 15 minutes, after drying up and putting on my clothes I went outside, I pushed the button to turn the lights off and the butterflies went back to their strings. I tried remembering the way we went when I got lost, I didn't recognize the things I came by and couldn't remember the way back, I was wandering around when I bumped into Keirran. 'Oh hey sis, I was wondering where you'd gone off to", "Well I got a little lost, this place is huge, but now we can go to mom and dad together', he nodded and we went the right way, I started to recognize the way we went. We entered a room where Meghan, Ash, Glitch and Puck were waiting for us, 'Serena, glad you're here, we talked about a lot and we've decided on the first thing in the near future'. I sat down next to Puck and they went on, 'Because we made this world believe that you were dead we're going to have to make an official banquet to declare you as the rightful princess of the Iron Court'. I didn't really like the sound of a banquet, 'What exactly does that mean?', 'Well it means you'll have to get lessons in everything, from etiquettes to dancing and greeting', Ash finished, my mom looked at Glitch and the sparks in his hair seemed uneasy, nervous, 'Glitch I would like to assign you for these lessons, there is no better teacher, and do keep an eye on Keirran too please'. Glitches sighed and Puck couldn't  hold in his laugher, 'You really think this is funny don't you summer fool?', Puck just shrugged, 'Well I can hold you equally guilty for bringing the princess here before her time'. He got up and opened some windows, 'The other courts will have to attend too right?', Meghan and Ash nodded, 'And so the summer fool will have to be at the Summer Court, yes?', he nodded but didn't look pleased. 'Goodfellow you can still turn into a crow right?', Puck got up and walked over to him, 'That's my specialty but what does this have to do with anything?', Glitch got a sly smile on his face, 'Well send our regards to the Summer king and queen because you're our official invitation for them', we all had confused looks but then Glitch grabbed Puck out of nothing and literally threw him out of the window, I gasped but there was a weird sound coming from Puck when he burst into a cloud of feathers and the last thing I heard and saw was a big black raven flying away. I looked at Glitch and got a lot more respect for him, he turned and looked at me, 'Well it's late but first thing tomorrow we're starting our lessons, that includes you too Keirra', we've got a forth night to arrange everything'. 'A forth night? 'How long is that?', 'We've got two weeks princess and we have a lot to do so get a good night sleep because you're not going to get that for about two weeks'.